oil

Follow this link to the story U.S. policies may have contributed to Iran revolution, study says by Borzou Daragahi, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer.

The purported facts are worthwhile to know. Who to blame if indeed blame is warranted is hard to know. I don’t know if there are good guys and bad guys in this story. Perhaps there are only bad guys and worse guys.

The price of oil in terms of U.S. dollars could be a deceptive thing to follow given that the value of the dollar is dropping with respect to other currencies. I decided to look at the price of oil in terms of Euros.

The price of oil at the beginning of 2007 was $51.57 or 39.64 Eur. The price of oil at the end of 2007 was $85.52 or 58.12 Eur.

The price of oil rose 66% in dollars, but only 47% in Euros. We were paying a $9.71 per barrel premium because of the mishandling of our economy. This is the extra cost over the uncertaintly premium that we pay because we chose to fight a war.

At George Bush’s inauguration the price of oil was $23.59 or 25.25 Euros. To the end of 2007, it has risen 263% in U.S. dollars and 130% in Euros.

George Bush said he would not raise taxes. He did not say that he would not raise the price of oil.